Algerian boxer goes for Olympic gold on gender lines, Thierry Henry looks set to lead France's footballers to glory
PARIS: Algerian boxer Imane Khelief, at the center of the Olympic gender qualification row, is set to win gold in Paris on Friday as Thierry Henry bids to propel France's footballers to glory.
With only three days to go before the start of the Games, the athletics program is being held at the Stade de France.
The boxing tournament has been overshadowed by controversy over whether to allow Khalif and Taiwanese fighter Lin Yu-ting to compete in the women's division.
The International Boxing Association (IBA) disqualified Khalif and Lin from last year's world championships after failing an unspecified gender eligibility test, but he and Lin were allowed to compete in Paris.
The boxing tournament organized by the International Olympic Committee at Roland Garros, the home of French tennis, is underway in the capital of France.
Both Khelief and Lin, 25, competed at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago, but there was no controversy and neither won a medal.
On Friday, Algerian Khalif will compete against China's Yang Liu in the 66kg final, while Lin will compete in a different weight category on Saturday.
Chants of “Imane, Imane” rang out repeatedly before and during Khalif's semi-final match on Tuesday as the crowd cheered the boxer on.
“I'm like all athletes, I'm here to fulfill my dream,” she said.
The final evening of track and field action will feature the men's and women's 4x100m relays, the men's 400m hurdles, the women's 400m and the heptathlon's final event of 800m.
American sprint star Noah Lyles was tipped for a sprint treble in Paris after winning the 100m earlier this week but could only manage bronze in his favored 200m on Thursday.
Minutes after the race, won by Botswana's Letsil Tebogo, Lyles revealed that he had tested positive for Covid and said the disease had “taken its toll.”
The American later posted on social media that his Games are likely over, but the U.S. remains the favorite to win gold in the sprint relay.
In Friday's women's 10,000m final, Dutch sprinter Sifan Hassan will attempt to defend her crown after coming up short in her bid for a historic long-distance treble.
Defending champion and world record holder Carsten Warholm is favored to defend his title in the men's 400m hurdles.
Henry's France take on Spain in the men's soccer final at the Parc des Princes.
40 years after winning the title in Los Angeles, Henry, one of France's all-time greats, has led his country to the brink of a second football gold.
They have conceded just one goal in five games and Henry admits he doesn't want his Olympic dream to end.
“I think it's going to be hard to get up,” he said. “Every night I watch the guys win and I get goosebumps.”
Spain came from behind to beat Morocco 2-1 in their semi-final in Marseille in front of a hostile crowd, which will give them the confidence to handle the pressure in the French capital.
“It's another environment I like,” said Fermin Lopez, who scored four Olympic goals after helping Spain win Euro 2024.
“We can do anything in any situation. Now we want to get gold.
In diving, China is aiming for gold in the women's 3m springboard and has made a clean sweep in Paris, winning all six events so far.
Defending champions the Netherlands take on China in the women's hockey final, chasing a fourth title in five games after the Dutch men's team won gold.
History will be made when the first Olympic medal is won in the breaking event held in La Concorde.
